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timschochet's thread- Mods, please move this thread to the Politics Subforum, thank you (2 Viewers)

Yeah that bored me. Sorry.

Rank US Senators. I'd be in for that.  And I already know your movie list is going to annoy me based on other comments. 

I will, however, give you credit for not putting Moby **** near the top of the list. Anyone who says they liked that awful self righteous torture of crap is lying to make themselves feel like they are superior to other people.

 
Yankee23Fan said:
Yeah that bored me. Sorry.

Rank US Senators. I'd be in for that.  And I already know your movie list is going to annoy me based on other comments. 

I will, however, give you credit for not putting Moby **** near the top of the list. Anyone who says they liked that awful self righteous torture of crap is lying to make themselves feel like they are superior to other people.
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Ive never read Moby ****. I tried to once; couldn't get into it. 

 
As a preview to the movies, here are my top ten favorite TV series: 

1. The West Wing

2. Game of Thrones 

3. Breaking Bad

4. Friday Night Lights

5. The Practice (seasons 1-7 only)

6. In Treatment (season 1 only) 

7. The Newsroom

8. Lost

9. Sex and the City

10. 24

 
timschochet said:
1. Shōgun

James Clavell

1975, 1152 pages

historical epic

Shogun tells the story of William Blackthorne (loosely based on the real life explorer William Adams) an English pilot who navigated a Dutch ship to Japan in 1600, only to become embroiled in a medieval civil war. Blackthorne meets the Lord Toranaga (heavily based on the real life Shogun Iyeyasu, who consolidated Japan) along with a host of other Samurai and peasants, and falls into a tragic love affair with the beautiful Lady Mariko.

As with Tai-Pan and Noble House, Clavell introduces us to a new world here, but in this one he goes even beyond those great novels and provides one great character after another, one great scene after another. There are no weak moments in this epic novel; its sheer perfection (at least for me) from start to finish. The battles, dialogue, characters, plotting, love scenes, are everything I could ask for in a story. In terms of narrative fiction, the only thing I can compare it to (somewhat) is Game of Thrones: the television series, not the novels (which for me were OK but at times slow and lacking.) There is nothing slow or lacking in Shogun. Its perfection in the form of the popular novel. And its my favorite of all time!
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This is my favorite as well. Cannot imagine a more perfect novel and think your description of what makes it so great is very apt. Loved the list. Well done!

 
timschochet said:
8. Trinity

Leon Uris

1976, 896 pages

historical epic

Leon Uris was a Jewish author, and most of his best novels deal with Jewish modern historical themes (Exodus, Mila 18, QB VII, The Haj, Mitla Pass, etc.) So it's interesting that IMO his finest effort has nothing to do with Jewish history and there are no Jewish characters. Trinity is a novel about Ireland, set between 1885 and 1915 (although there is a lengthy flashback which describes the Great Famine of the 1840s, which is central to understanding the historical elements behind the novel.)

The "trinity" of the title refers to the three competing forces in Ireland during this time, each represented in the novel by a family: the Larkins are Catholic villagers who have taken a leadership role in resisting the British occupation. The Hubbles are British Anglicans, earls who have colonized Ireland. The MacLeods are Protestants from Ulster. Of these, the Larkins are the central family, with Conor Larkin the main protagonist of the novel, and the Irish liberation movement (represented first by Parnell and later by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, but not, notably, by the IRA) have Uris' sympathy. Despite this, he does attempt to represent everyone's point of view rather fairly, much more so than he did in Exodus. It may be that his lack of personal involvement allows him to be more objective.

IMO, this is a great a historical epic as any I have encountered. It has the same sweep of the Follett novels I mentioned earlier, and the Clavell novels I have reviewed (and have yet to review) but with an even greater emotional pull. That it's not my absolute favorite (beyond the Clavell, there are a few other historical novels yet to come) it's only because personally some other historical eras and subject matters interest me a little more- but that's a subjective preference. Trinity could easily be the #1 novel on this list, and some days I think it is.

Up next: the birth of Hong Kong...
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Another all time favorite. :highfive:

 
timschochet said:
As a preview to the movies, here are my top ten favorite TV series: 

1. The West Wing

2. Game of Thrones 

3. Breaking Bad

4. Friday Night Lights

5. The Practice (seasons 1-7 only)

6. In Treatment (season 1 only) 

7. The Newsroom

8. Lost

9. Sex and the City

10. 24
Click to expand...
Don't post your movies. We understand.

 
We align a lot on books - I have to admit I haven't been scrutinizing the list, but surprised there isn't an Updike, Roth, or Cormac McCarthy in the top 10.

ETA - top 100?  I don't see any of them.  

Read the Rabbit books if you haven't.  Then Blood Meridian.  Then American Pastoral. Then every book by Roth and McCarthy ever written.

 
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The Newsroom was such a disappointment for me.  The first season was so damn good, but it really drove off a cliff from there.  Although Season 2 had better critic reviews, the ratings showed otherwise.  The writing was terrible and lost the energy and spunk the first season carried.  I absolutely couldn't stand a couple of the characters, mainly Maggie.  And I think everyone was wanting to see more progression through Don and Sloans relationship but the show never lasted long enough for it to really take off.  

 
dschuler said:
The Newsroom was such a disappointment for me.  The first season was so damn good, but it really drove off a cliff from there.  Although Season 2 had better critic reviews, the ratings showed otherwise.  The writing was terrible and lost the energy and spunk the first season carried.  I absolutely couldn't stand a couple of the characters, mainly Maggie.  And I think everyone was wanting to see more progression through Don and Sloans relationship but the show never lasted long enough for it to really take off.  
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I liked all 3 seasons, though not when Maggie cut her hair. 

 
elbowrm said:
We align a lot on books - I have to admit I haven't been scrutinizing the list, but surprised there isn't an Updike, Roth, or Cormac McCarthy in the top 10.

ETA - top 100?  I don't see any of them.  

Read the Rabbit books if you haven't.  Then Blood Meridian.  Then American Pastoral. Then every book by Roth and McCarthy ever written.
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I like Roth but he didn't make my list. I tried McCarthy (No Country) but didn't like it. But I will try again. 

 
OK so movies. There was a time when I saw nearly every highly rated movie out there, but that stopped in 2000 when my first daughter was born. Since then I have had to be a lot more selective, but even after I had more free time I never returned to my former movie going ways. Part of the reason, I think, has been because television since the late 1990s has gotten so much better. Certain episodes of Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones might be as good, (and in the latter case, as cinematic) as any film I've ever seen.

The result is that this list is dominated by films made before 1999, with only 13 of the 100 made in the 21st century. I would also say that in terms of movies my tastes are a bit more varied than on my novel list (though it is true that this list is dominated by popular films made by major Hollywood studios.) I expect to get mocked for some of these films because I know that some people find them pretty lousy; not me. The only unifying thing on this list is that if any of these movies show up on TV I'm likely to sit down and watch it.

And away we go...

 
100. Mississippi Burning (1988)

Directed by Alan Parker

Stars: Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourrif

A civil rights movie as seen through the eyes of the FBI. It got highly criticized when it came out for historical inaccuracies, "Rambo" like treatment of the KKK, and no major black characters. I don't give a crap about any of that; I just like the drama. Hackman is excellent as always and works well with Dafoe (though Dafoe is rather wooden in his role.) McDormand and Dourrif are simply fine actors in everything they do.

The confrontations between Hackman and the KKK types are terrific, especially the scene in the bar when Hackman seizes Michael Rooker's genitals and says "Now listen to me you little ####kicker" Great scene! (Incidentally, Michael Rooker was great as a tough bad guy type in 80s movies and then he just disappeared.)

Up next: Hate put me in prison. Love's gonna bust me out.

 
you can keep up this sharade as long as you want no one believes you can watch movies given that you type posts for all day every day take that to the bank 

 
timschochet said:
100. Mississippi Burning (1988)

Directed by Alan Parker

Stars: Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourrif

A civil rights movie as seen through the eyes of the FBI. It got highly criticized when it came out for historical inaccuracies, "Rambo" like treatment of the KKK, and no major black characters. I don't give a crap about any of that; I just like the drama. Hackman is excellent as always and works well with Dafoe (though Dafoe is rather wooden in his role.) McDormand and Dourrif are simply fine actors in everything they do.

The confrontations between Hackman and the KKK types are terrific, especially the scene in the bar when Hackman seizes Michael Rooker's genitals and says "Now listen to me you little ####kicker" Great scene! (Incidentally, Michael Rooker was great as a tough bad guy type in 80s movies and then he just disappeared.)

Up next: Hate put me in prison. Love's gonna bust me out.
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:unsure:

 
Blood Meridian is perhaps the best book ever written from a pure "these words are amazing" perspective.  Even if you don't like the story or hate all the characters (and every one of them is worth hating) it's a sensational work of literary art. 

 
Abraham said:
Blood Meridian is perhaps the best book ever written from a pure "these words are amazing" perspective.  Even if you don't like the story or hate all the characters (and every one of them is worth hating) it's a sensational work of literary art. 
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I much prefered No Country for Old Men

 
Abraham said:
Blood Meridian is perhaps the best book ever written from a pure "these words are amazing" perspective.  Even if you don't like the story or hate all the characters (and every one of them is worth hating) it's a sensational work of literary art. 
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I love The Road, and have read it a few times now, but haven't been able to get through BM.  I have started it 3 times now. 

 
KarmaPolice said:
I love The Road, and have read it a few times now, but haven't been able to get through BM.  I have started it 3 times now. 
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Admittedly tough to read. I was just saying that the writing is tremendous even if the story drags a bit.  Ten pages of blood meridian is mentally exhausting.  In a good way. 

 
Best filmed adaptation of a Leon Uris novel was the 1974 TV miniseries version of QBVII.   Anthony Hopkins and Ben Gazzara are both excellent.  It's a relatively small scale book that translates better than some 800 page tome.

The Otto Preminger version of Exodus is like a modern biblical epic in all the wrong ways.  Even a young Paul Newman can't save it.  Battle Cry is a WWII soap opera with Tab Hunter's unintentional comedy as its one saving grace.  Topaz is as forgettable a film as Alfrerd Hitchcock ever made.

Uris wrote the screenplay for the 1957 version of Gunfight at the OK Corral which is a very entertaining movie with Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster chewing the scenery.

 
timschochet said:
(Incidentally, Michael Rooker was great as a tough bad guy type in 80s movies and then he just disappeared.)
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I don't know what he did in between the 80s and the last few years, but he has a fairly prominent role in The Walking Dead

 
I'll get back to Russian history one of these months... I didn't get very many comments when I was doing it so I didn't think people were reading it.

 
Eephus said:
Best filmed adaptation of a Leon Uris novel was the 1974 TV miniseries version of QBVII.   Anthony Hopkins and Ben Gazzara are both excellent.  It's a relatively small scale book that translates better than some 800 page tome.

The Otto Preminger version of Exodus is like a modern biblical epic in all the wrong ways.  Even a young Paul Newman can't save it.  Battle Cry is a WWII soap opera with Tab Hunter's unintentional comedy as its one saving grace.  Topaz is as forgettable a film as Alfrerd Hitchcock ever made.

Uris wrote the screenplay for the 1957 version of Gunfight at the OK Corral which is a very entertaining movie with Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster chewing the scenery.
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QB VII is almost perfect for a miniseries. The other books, including Exodus, not so much. I've always felt Armageddon should be filmed though; somebody should tell the story of the Berlin Airlift on screen: truly one of this nation's greatest accomplishments, now barely remembered.

 
timschochet said:
As a preview to the movies, here are my top ten favorite TV series: 

1. The West Wing

2. Game of Thrones 

3. Breaking Bad

4. Friday Night Lights

5. The Practice (seasons 1-7 only)

6. In Treatment (season 1 only) 

7. The Newsroom

8. Lost

9. Sex and the City

10. 24
Click to expand...
Yikes. 

 
KarmaPolice said:
Can we get an over/under on how many King and Grisham adaptations we are going to get on this list?
Click to expand...
The only good big screen adaptations of King books I can think of off hand are The Shiining, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption and Misery. Needful things was semi ok.

Not a Dead Zone or Carrie fan. Pet cemetary was laughably bad. I never saw Stand by Me

IMDB lists 98 (!) movies and TV series (incl a few shorts) that were based on Stephen King's books and novellas. That's actually pretty impressive

 
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